Therapuetic device

ABSTRACT

An apparatus adapted for exercising the arms of a patient recovering from a mastectomy or one having bursitis or the like combines a pulley, a cord disposed over a pulley and having two freely swinging ends, a handle carried by the cord on each side of the pulley and spaced longitudinally from each other a distance which permits one arm of a standing patient to be upright in a plane substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the patient&#39;&#39;s body while the other arm depends from the shoulder along the side of the body also in a plane which is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the body when the patient is grasping both handles but less than the vertical distance between the patient&#39;&#39;s hands when the arms are so disposed, and a U-shaped bracket adapted to fit over the top edge of a door and carrying an outwardly and upwardly projecting pole to which the pulley is attached.

United States Patent [191 Primary ExaminerLawrence W. Trapp Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Clelle W. Upchurch Gustafson June 4, 1974 THERAPUETIC DEVICE [76] Inventor: August W. Gustafson, 350 Pasadena [57] ABSTRACT PL, Corpus Christi, Tex. 7841 1 An apparatus adapted for exercising the arms of a patient recovering from a mastectomy or one having [22] May 1973 bursitis or the like'combines a pulley, a cord disposed [2]] App]. No.: 357,183 over a pulley and having two freely swinging ends, a handle carried by the cord on each side of the pulley [52] U S Cl 128/25 R and spaced longitudinally from each other a distance [5] 1 In. .Cl ...A6lh U02 which permits one arm of a Standing patient to be p [58] Fieid 272/79 R right in a plane substantially parallel to the longitudi- 272/80 nal axis of the patients body while the other arm depends from the shoulder along the side of the body lso in a plane which is substantially parallel to the [56] References Cited a longitudinal exis of the body when the patient is grasp UNITED STATES PATENTS ing both handles but less than the vertical distance be- 2,l83,265 l2/l939 Maloney 128/25 R tween the patients hands when the arms are so disg f l g posed, and a U-shaped bracket adapted to fit over the pm 5 top edge of a doorand carrying an outwardly and upwardly'projecting pole to which the pulley is attached.

5 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures r 1 THERAPUETIC DEVICE This invention relates generally to exercising devices and more particularly to an exercising device to be used for therapeutic purposes by women convalescing from a mastectomy or by a person suffering from bursitis.

Substantially all of the lymph nodes in the chest area and under'the arm are removed during the perfonnance of a radical mastectomy. The removal of the lymph nodes affects the muscles as they are stripped during surgery. These muscles are sewn. together and there is a tendency for most post-operative patients to avoid as much as possible moving of the arm on the side where the breast was removed because of the pain associated with its movement. As a result, the muscles of the arm stiffen and the patient often loses the use of the arm. Most surgeons prescribe an exercise treatment which requires the patient to move the arm and thereby avoid stiffening of the muscles. Proper exercising requires that the arm be moved upwardly over the head to pull and strengthen the muscles. Various types of exercising devices adapted for use for therapeutic purposes have been proposedheretofore but they have the" disadvantage that they are large and cumbersome and none of them is particularlywell suited for exercising an arm by moving it up and down as required by patients who have had a mastectomy.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a small relatively inexpensive, simple apparatus for use in exercising the arms of a patient following surgery. Another object of the invention is to provide an effective but simple device for exercising the arms which is adapted to be moved about from place to place with the patient and to be installed without a complicated or cumbersome supporting structure. A more specific obwith the elbow straight along the side of the patients body in a plane substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the body while the patient isgrasping the grasping means but less than the vertical distance between the patients hands when the arms are so disposed, means for supporting the pulley comprising a substantially U-shaped bracket adapted to fit over the top edge of a door or the likeand a-rod rigidly secured to the bracket and projecting outwardly and upwardly therefrom, and a means for securing the pulley to the rod at a height above the reach of the patient. The distance between the grasping means must be such that the affected arm of the patient can be pulled to a substantially straight upright position by the other hand and arm. In other words, the distance between the handles should not be so great that the cord becomes slack before one arm has been pulled by the other to its fully extended upright position.

Referring now to FIG. I of the drawing, a cord 10 is disposed over pulley 11 with its two freeends passing through centrally disposed holes 25 and 25a through handles 12 and 12a. Knots l3 and 13a near the ends of cord 10 secure the handles 12 and 12a thereon. One end of a metal plate 14 is bent into a substantially U- shaped configuration toform a bracket 23 adapted to fit snugly over the top edge of door 15 or other supporting structure. Tubular rod 16 is disposed longitudinally across and welded to the face of plate 14 and is inclined upwardly at an enclosed oblique angle as it projects outwardly from the face of plate 14 to form a pole. The pole may be an elongated single piece 16a as illustrated in FIG. 2. Alternately, the pole may be in two pieces as illustrated in FIG. I with an elongated tube 21 threadject of the invention is to provide a small compact exercisingdevice particularly well suited for mastectomy patients and adapted to be moved from place to place and quickly installed almost any place the patient may be.

Other objects will become apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein FIG. 1 is a side elevation of one embodiment of the exercising device provided by the invention; and 1 FIG. 2 is a pictorial representation of another embodiment of the exercising device provided by the invention being utilized by a patient.

The foregoing objects and others are accomplished in accordance with the invention, generally speaking, by providing an exercising device for therapeutic purposes having a cord and pulley arrangement combined with a support bracket which can be quickly assembled for exercising and/or disassembled for packaging and transporting from place to place with a patient. More specifically, the invention provides an apparatus for exercising an arm for the therapeutic treatment of a patient comprising a pulley, a cord disposed over the pulley with two freely swinging ends, a means carried by the cord on each side of the pulley for grasping the cord, means for securing the grasping means on the cord in longitudinally spaced relationship a distance which permits one arm of a standing patient to be upright with the elbow straight and in a plane which is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the patients body and the other arm to extend downwardly ably secured by acoupling l9 to the end of. rod 16. Tube 21 may be bent as illustrated in FIG. 1, so that the height of pulley 11 may be adjusted to accommodate patients of different heights by rotating tube 21 onequa rter or one-half turn. Pulley 11 is attached to its support by an S-hook 22 disposed in a hole 18 at the end 17 or 17a of pole 16a or tube 21. The longitudinal spacing between handles 12 and 12a must be such that the affected arm can be pulled to its full upright extended position above the shoulder by the other hand and arm without the cord becoming slack and such that the affected arm'can return to aposition below the shoulder similar to the position ofthe right arm illustrated in FIG. 2. In other words, the position of knots l3 and 13a on the cord may be varied from patient to patient so the cord length therebetween is somewhat less than the vertical distance between the patients hands when one arm is substantially upright and the other is disposed along the patients side.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the patient may assume a position with her backtoward door 15 and grasp handles 12 and 12a. The good arm is moved downwardly thereby pulling the affected arm upwardly towards pulley 11 until the arm is extended upwardly above the shoulder and the muscles under the arm are stretched somewhat. The affected arm is then permitted to return to a depending position below the shoulder, preferably with the hand below the waist. The unaffected arm is now above the shoulder and positioned to again lift the affected arm. The process is continued for the prescribed period of-time. Immediately following the operation, the patient may not be able to raise'the affected arm above the shoulder but as exercising continues from day to day the stiffening of the muscles will begin 3 to disappear and eventually the affected arm willmove practically as freely as the unaffected one.

Cord may be conveniently a cotton rope and pole 16 may be made from a /2 inch pipe. The inner surfaces of the U-shaped bracket may be covered with felt or other material to avoid scratching the door.

It is apparent from the foregoing that the invention accomplishes its objectives. The apparatus is small and compact which adapts it for simple packaging by the manufacturer and packing by the patient for transporting it from place to place. Pulley 11 is supportedat an elevation which permits pulling the affected arm to a position where stretching of the chest muscles occurs. The length of cord 10 between knots l3 and 13a is such that it permits the affected arm to move from approximately the position of the right arm in FIG. 2 to an upright position with the elbow substantially straight. The U-shaped bracket permits quick and simple installation.

Although the invention has been described in detail for the purpose of illustration, it is to be understood that such detail is solely for that purpose and that varia tions can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention except as it may be limited by the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus adapted for exercising an arm for the therapeutic treatment of a patient comprising a pulley, a cord disposed over the pulley and having two freely swinging ends, a means carried by the cord on each side of the pulley for grasping the cord, means for securing said grasping means on the cord in longitudinally spaced relationship a distance which permits one arm of a standing patient to be upright in a plane substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the patients body and the other arm to depend simultaneously downwardly from the shoulder along the side of the patients body in a plane substantially parallel to the lon gitudinal axis of the body while said patient is grasping said grasping means but less than thevertical distance between the patients hands when the arms are so disposed, means for supporting the pulley comprising a substantially U-shaped bracket adapted to fit over the top edge of a door or the like and a pole rigidly secured to the bracket and projecting outwardly and upwardly therefrom, and means for securing the pulley to the pole at a height above the reach of the patient.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said grasping means are wood handles having centrally disposed transverse openings therethrough, the cord passes through the opening and a knot secures the handle on the cord.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the pole is a single piece. v

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the pole is composed of two tubes coupled together.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said pole comprises a bent tube coupled to a second tube. 

1. An apparatus adapted for exercising an arm for the therapeutic treatment of a patient comprising a pulley, a cord disposed over the pulley and having two freely swinging ends, a means carried by the cord on each side of the pulley for grasping the cord, means for securing said grasping means on the cord in longitudinally spaced relationship a distance which permits one arm of a standing patient to be upright in a plane substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the patient''s body and the other arm to depend simultaneously downwardly from the shoulder along the side of the patient''s body in a plane substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the body while said patient is grasping said grasping means but less than the vertical distance between the patient''s hands when the arms are so disposed, means for supporting the pulley comprising a substantially U-shaped bracket adapted to fit over the top edge of a door or the like and a pole rigidly secured to the bracket and projecting outwardly and upwardly therefrom, and means for securing the pulley to the pole at a height above the reach of the patient.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said grasping means are wood handles having centrally disposed transverse openings therethrough, the cord passes through the opening and a knot secures the handle on the cord.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the pole is a single piece.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the pole is composed of two tubes coupled together.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said pole comprises a bent tube coupled to a second tube. 